Ephesians 5–6

Chapter 5

Be Imitators of God

^1aTherefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

²and ^awalk in love, just as Christ also ^bloved ¹you and ^cgave Himself up for us, an ^doffering and a sacrifice to God ²as a ^efragrant aroma.

³But ^aimmorality ¹or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among ²saints;

⁴and there must be no ^afilthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which ^bare not fitting, but rather ^cgiving of thanks.

⁵For this you know with certainty, that ^ano ¹immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom ^bof Christ and God.

^6aLet no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things ^bthe wrath of God comes upon ^cthe sons of disobedience.

⁷Therefore do not be ^apartakers with them;

⁸for ^ayou were formerly ^bdarkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as ^cchildren of Light

⁹(for ^athe fruit of the Light consists in all ^bgoodness and righteousness and truth),

^101atrying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

^11aDo not participate in the unfruitful ^bdeeds of ^cdarkness, but instead even ^1dexpose them;

¹²for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

¹³But all things become visible ^awhen they are ¹exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

¹⁴For this reason ¹it says,

“^aAwake, sleeper,

And arise from ^bthe dead,

And Christ ^cwill shine on you.”

¹⁵Therefore ¹be careful how you ^awalk, not ^bas unwise men but as wise,

^161amaking the most of your time, because ^bthe days are evil.

¹⁷So then do not be foolish, but ^aunderstand what the will of the Lord is.

¹⁸And ^ado not get drunk with wine, ¹for that is ^bdissipation, but be ^cfilled with the Spirit,

^19aspeaking to ¹one another in ^bpsalms and ^chymns and spiritual ^dsongs, ^esinging and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

^20aalways giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to ^1bGod, even the Father;

^211aand be subject to one another in the ^2bfear of Christ.

Marriage Like Christ and the Church

^22aWives, ^bbe subject to your own husbands, ^cas to the Lord.

²³For ^athe husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the ^bhead of the church, He Himself ^cbeing the Savior of the body.

²⁴But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

^25aHusbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and ^bgave Himself up for her,

^26aso that He might sanctify her, having ^bcleansed her by the ^cwashing of water with ^dthe word,

²⁷that He might ^apresent to Himself the church ¹in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be ^bholy and blameless.

²⁸So husbands ought also to ^alove their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;

²⁹for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

³⁰because we are ^amembers of His ^bbody.

^31aFor this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

³²This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

³³Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to ^alove his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she ^1brespects her husband.

Chapter 6

Family Relationships

^1aChildren, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

^2aHonor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise),

³so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.

^4aFathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but ^bbring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

^5aSlaves, be obedient to those who are your ¹masters according to the flesh, with ^bfear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, ^cas to Christ;

^6anot ¹by way of eyeservice, as ^bmen-pleasers, but as ^cslaves of Christ, ^ddoing the will of God from the ²heart.

⁷With good will ¹render service, ^aas to the Lord, and not to men,

^8aknowing that ^bwhatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, ^cwhether slave or free.

⁹And masters, do the same things to them, and ^agive up threatening, knowing that ^bboth their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is ^cno partiality with Him.

The Armor of God

¹⁰Finally, ^abe strong in the Lord and in ^bthe strength of His might.

^11aPut on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the ^bschemes of the devil.

¹²For our ^astruggle is not against ^1bflesh and blood, but ^cagainst the rulers, against the powers, against the ^dworld forces of this ^edarkness, against the ^fspiritual forces of wickedness in ^gthe heavenly places.

¹³Therefore, take up ^athe full armor of God, so that you will be able to ^bresist in ^cthe evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

¹⁴Stand firm therefore, ^ahaving girded your loins with truth, and having ^bput on the breastplate of righteousness,

¹⁵and having ^ashod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

¹⁶¹in addition to all, taking up the ^ashield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the ^bflaming arrows of ^cthe evil one.

¹⁷And take ^athe helmet of salvation, and the ^bsword of the Spirit, which is ^cthe word of God.

¹⁸¹With all ^aprayer and petition ^2bpray at all times ^cin the Spirit, and with this in view, ^3dbe on the alert with all ^eperseverance and ^fpetition for all the saints,

¹⁹and ^apray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me ^bin the opening of my mouth, to make known with ^cboldness ^dthe mystery of the gospel,

²⁰for which I am an ^aambassador ^bin ¹chains; that ²in proclaiming it I may speak ^cboldly, ^das I ought to speak.

^21aBut that you also may know about my circumstances, ¹how I am doing, ^bTychicus, ^cthe beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you.

^221aI have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know ²about us, and that he may ^bcomfort your hearts.

^23aPeace be to the brethren, and ^blove with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁴Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ ¹with incorruptible love.